The Other F Word: Conversations About Failure

As an author, social worker, peace activist, speaker, and trainer, Sammy Rangel joins us to share his profound story about forgiveness. His early life was filled with horrendous experiences of abuse and neglect, leading to violent years spent in and out of prison, with the most important people and systems failing to help him.  While his story is heart wrenching, his spirit is awe inspiring. He speaks honestly about the pivotal moments in his life that caused him to shift from destruction to connection, from hate towards empathy, and ultimately, towards forgiveness.  You can connect with Sammy on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/sammyrangel

L.A. based Yoga teacher and entrepreneur, Anthony Benenati, talks candidly about his journey from success to failure, where he currently sits, in a period of questioning and uncertainty, after selling his successful yoga studio to a larger corporation. Anthony speaks about the challenge to rebuild his career, at a time in mid-life when he finds it hard to harness the entrepreneurial spirit he once knew in his younger self. Anthony shares the parallels in yoga and in life, of learning to create calm within chaos, and knowing not to push when the moment calls for stillness. His insight and wisdom is an authentic reminder of what it's like to sit in failure and trust that he will move through it when ready. www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

At 80 years old, author, performer, age activist Barbara Rose Brooker explores the topic of age discrimination in her book "The Viagra Diaries", soon to be a tv show, Huffington post column titled Boomer in the City, her blog, and one women shows. She's the founder of the first ever march on age equality, and speaks passionately about her experiences of age discrimination and how aging is considered a failure in our culture. Her enthusiasm and passion have inspired others to look at aging in new ways and instead of fear growing old,  to embrace it. Find out more about Barbara here: www.barbararosebrooker.com www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Champion swimmer and 1992 Olympic gold medalist, Summer Sanders shares her journey on how she learned to reap the rewards of failure and become a champion. As early as 15 years old, Summer experienced pivotal moments of failure, including losing a race in 1988 that would have taken her to the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This loss inspired Summer to a new level in her training, fueling the fire to take herself seriously, value working hard, and understand the need to "practice being great" and no longer fear that greatness within her.  Her story is inspiring and her message is clear - fail early and young and see the process of failing not as something to fear, but as a true opportunity to learn and grow. www.summersanders.net www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Comedy writer on the sitcom Fuller House and blogger for the Huffington Post, Bryan Behar brings humor and insight to his many experiences of failure. From childhood to adulthood, personally and professionally, Bryan shares his stories of struggling socially as a child,  losing jobs, coping with anxiety and depression, navigating family dysfunction, and how hidden secrets of failure and shame led to an unexpected suicide. His touching, honest, and often hilarious telling of stories helps uncover society's myths on the pressure to fail perfectly and the understanding that failure is filled with messy imperfection. You can follow Bryan on twitter here: www.twitter.com/bryanbehar www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Editor, screenwriter, and the author of the book Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis, Amy Ferris talks candidly and with humor, about the struggle of midlife and menopause and the need to connect with others to get through the darkest of times. Amy shares how her many mistakes in life, as messy and painful as they have been, have led her to learn to love, most importantly herself. Her wisdom and insight is profound and inspiring, as she speaks about failure as a necessary part of the journey towards self esteem and love. You can find out more about here at her website http://marryinggeorgeclooney.com And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/amy.ferris www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

The Other F Word hosts talk about what they've learned so far. www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Personal trainer and longtime group fitness teacher at Barry's Bootcamp in Los Angeles, talks about all things fitness, that relates to failure. Whether it's finding ways to motivate, push through the discomfort, get around an injury, or get out of your head,  Martin addresses all of the ways that one can feel like a failure when it comes to staying fit. What can seem like a light topic is also explored on a deeper level, when it comes to issues of poor self esteem, struggle with self care, unhealthy relationship to food, and the shame in asking for help. He helps to understand how to gain a better mindset to push through the struggle to stay fit. www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

A live conversation with the elementary school parents at Valley Charter on the struggles of raising kids. www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Restaurant owner and recent author of "The Adventures of Starry Kitchen", Nguyen Tran, talks about his entrepreneurial path, which started with an illegal, underground restaurant in his North Hollywood apartment, which quickly became the #1 Asian fusion restaurant in L.A. on yelp, but was shut down by the health department. This failure inspired him to persevere and go on to open the very successful Starry Kitchen and Button Mash Restaurant in Los Angeles. Nguyen talks with honesty and humor how his upbringing taught him to dispute the notion that failure doesn't happen to winners and that completion is more important than success. His entrepreneurial spirit is both inspiring and entertaining. Learn more about Nguyen at: www.starrykitchen.com www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Author, parenting advocate, creativity coach, and spiritual seeker Robin Finn talks about her journey as a mom. From raising kids with ADHD, to tolerating felling inadequate as a mom, to feeling judged by others, she found a way to warrior through it all-by writing about it. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, ADDitude Magazine, Disney's Babble.com, and others, and she went on to write her first novel "Restless in LA". Robin shares how her creative and spiritual journey allowed her to surrender from the expectation to be perfect and raise perfect children, and to accept the beauty in imperfection. Learn more about Robin at: www.robinfinn.com www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Sam Lamott, artist, writer, son of well known author Anne Lamott, talks about living and writing from a place of truth and vulnerability, after experiencing so much pain and struggle in his life. Whether it be failed relationships, addiction, depression, low self esteem, Sam is a storyteller of fear and courage. His most current vulnerability project, hellohumans.co, is a gathering place for writers to speak honestly about the quirky, flawed, and real life spectrum of humanity-the counterculture of the usual snapshot of perfection that people so often portray on social media. Find out more about Sam at: www.hellohumans.co www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Author and holistic living and joyful educator, who wrote the highly acclaimed article on "What if All I Want is a Mediocre Life?", describes how she learned to accept her mediocrity, and how making peace with her limitations changed her view on failure. Learn more about Krista at: www.alifeinprogress.ca www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

The writer and blogger known for her poignant portrayal as a failed widow-grieving for her deceased husband while also falling in love at the same time. Melissa speaks about how she failed society's expectations of how to be a widow, and how powerful her written words have been in connection other's who also grieve in different ways. Find out more about Melissa at: www.widowish.com And you can follow Melissa at: www.twitter.com/widowishwidow www.theotherfwordpodcast.com  

18 year old Eliza Rubin's weekly podcast "Eliza Starting at 16" helps to reveal what teenagers are struggling with these days, in terms of pressure for perfection, self esteem, relationships, social media, and family life. She explores how failure is not something to be avoided, but rather a necessary part of learning to face challenges. Her honesty and insight lends an important perspective into the life of a teenager, a stage of development that society so often fails to understand. Learn more about Eliza at: http://www.elizastartingat16.com Follow Eliza at: https://www.instagram.com/elizastarting/ www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Best known for her TEDtalk on the beauty of being a Misfit, Lidia Yuknavitch, writer and teacher, speaks poignantly about her abusive childhood, experience with alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, time in a psychiatric ward, multiple failed marriages, and finally, the loss of her first child, all leading her to feel like she failed to fit in. Lidia's storytelling of resilience is rich and inspiring, acting as a bridge to others. Her vulnerability, honesty and insight highlight how failure is actually a "portal" to reinvent oneself endlessly. Connect w/ Lidia: https://lidiayuknavitch.net Corporeal Writing site: http://www.corporealwriting.com TEDtalk: https://www.ted.com/speakers/lidia_yuknavitch www.theotherfwordpodcast.com  

Ever wonder what it's like to be a rock star, touring Europe first class and hobnobbing with the likes of Coldplay, only to have your band fail and your career end? Chenjerai Kumanyika had that very experience. Join Morgan, Sara and Melissa in their conversation of how he recovered from his failure and became a college professor. You can follow Chenjerai @catchatweetdown www.theotherfwordpodcast.com  

Pediatrician Howie Reinstein and Psychologist Tom Brauner discuss how too much technology is failing our children, in terms of brain development, social relationships, and family dynamics. An honest conversation about how seductive technology can be to all, and yet how damaging the impact can be to children's development, and what to do to manage our hyper-connection to technology. www.theotherfwordpodcast.com

Writers Mark and Carla share the dramatic ups and downs of selling all their belongings and moving to the Pacific island of Rarotonga with their young children and ultimately failing to make it work. Follow Mark at: https://twitter.com/Frauenfelder Follow Carla at: https://twitter.com/Carla_Sinclair www.theotherfwordpodcast.com  

Author of 5 books including Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay, mom, comedian, podcast co-host - For Crying Out Loud and Rose Pricks, shares her funny and poignant story about how the stress of new motherhood drove her to drink more and more each day and how she discovered, in a hungover state, that she had hit rock bottom and was actually an alcoholic. Stefanie strips away the layers of shame and shares her journey to sobriety. You can follow Stefanie here: https://twitter.com/SWilderTaylor www.theotherfwordpodcast.com